86 ALCL help

"ssome" wrote in message

> let me ask an easier question
>
> i have platinum plugs in it which are supposed to last a
> lifetime. could a
> broken or faulty plug give a code 42 spark timing err?
> i chkd a couple of them and they looked fine, but it has
> been 15 yrs for
> them.
> starts easy.

nothing last a life-time
(except maybe bad-luck?)
anyway,
check the condition of your wires.

g'luck
--
"Key"
=====
---snip---
 >> Stay informed about: 86 ALCL help 

thanks, i did chk the wires and found the oil from valve cover leaks
tightened them, and cleaned off the wires which look fine
cleaned the plug connections (in and out) and outside of plugs for oil
problem still there

will replace plugs with new platinum unless there is now an improved plug
for the '86
not looking forward to this task, esp right side, esp back one.
what in hell were they thinking?
at least we don't have to remove the engine to get to the back ones

ssome

"'Key" wrote in message

> "ssome" wrote in message
>
> > let me ask an easier question
> >
> > i have platinum plugs in it which are supposed to last a
> > lifetime. could a
> > broken or faulty plug give a code 42 spark timing err?
> > i chkd a couple of them and they looked fine, but it has
> > been 15 yrs for
> > them.
> > starts easy.
>
> nothing last a life-time
> (except maybe bad-luck?)
> anyway,
> check the condition of your wires.
>
> g'luck
> --
> "Key"
> =====
> ---snip---
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: 86 ALCL help 

"ssome" wrote in message

> thanks, i did chk the wires and found the oil from valve
> cover leaks
> tightened them, and cleaned off the wires which look
> fine
> cleaned the plug connections (in and out) and outside of
> plugs for oil
> problem still there
>
> will replace plugs with new platinum unless there is
> now an improved plug
> for the '86
> not looking forward to this task, esp right side, esp
> back one.
> what in hell were they thinking?
> at least we don't have to remove the engine to get to the
> back ones
>
> ssome

might not be your problem ?
however,
a wire can be breaking down and still look acceptable.
--
"Key"
=====

>
> "'Key" wrote in message
>
>> "ssome" wrote in message
>>
>> > let me ask an easier question
>> >
>> > i have platinum plugs in it which are supposed to last
>> > a
>> > lifetime. could a
>> > broken or faulty plug give a code 42 spark timing err?
>> > i chkd a couple of them and they looked fine, but it
>> > has
>> > been 15 yrs for
>> > them.
>> > starts easy.
>>
>> nothing last a life-time
>> (except maybe bad-luck?)
>> anyway,
>> check the condition of your wires.
>>
>> g'luck
>> --
>> "Key"
>> =====
>> ---snip---
>>
>>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: 86 ALCL help 

always do the easy and cheap stuff first

put in sp wire, dist cap, coil, rotor, plugs, electronics points module and
the ESC all connetions to ALL SENSORS.

there is also an external timing 'set' connector, used when setting the
timing

put in new parts one at a time and check results

don't ignore things like bad fuel, fuel pressure,

I chased a an intermittent sp wire for 2 years.

if compression and vacuum checks shows the engine ok, fuel and pressure ok,
wiring good, the only thing left are senors and ecm

if it was the ecm your car will definately not run

g...luck

There is also
"ssome" wrote in message

>i really can't just turn over the car to a dealer and say fix it. pride
>and
> money.
> the last time i did that it effectively cost me $1300 for a new battery
> they will take advantage of us
>
> this time i noticed overnight a fluttering of performance as if one
> cylinder
> wasn't firing
> i chked the plugs and found oil leaks from the valve covers onto the plugs
> cleaned them and problem is still there
>
> chkd for vacuum line leaks; none that i could see
> then on the 3rd day, the Service Engine flashing lite, sometimes
>
> chkd code: 42 timing
>
> added info: years ago my gas mileage numbers were screwed up, but didn't
> care, unless it meant ECM bad.
>
> pls, tell me i don't have to hand my baby over to them and that i can just
> buy a $25 part (still laughing myself) and plug it in to solve all
> problems.
>
> ssome
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: 86 ALCL help 

> if it was the ecm your car will definately not run
>

I have to disagree with this from personal experience. I had an
aftermarket chip go flakey on me after having it for 8 or 9 years. The
car would run perfectly, then suddly surge, rumble, hesitate, and
sometimes cut off. After going through several checks, I finally got
down to the chip and put the stock one back in. Poof! problem solved.
 >> Stay informed about: 86 ALCL help 

ssome wrote:
> i really can't just turn over the car to a dealer and say fix it. pride and
> money.
> the last time i did that it effectively cost me $1300 for a new battery
> they will take advantage of us
>
> this time i noticed overnight a fluttering of performance as if one cylinder
> wasn't firing
> i chked the plugs and found oil leaks from the valve covers onto the plugs
> cleaned them and problem is still there
>
> chkd for vacuum line leaks; none that i could see
> then on the 3rd day, the Service Engine flashing lite, sometimes
>
> chkd code: 42 timing
>
> added info: years ago my gas mileage numbers were screwed up, but didn't
> care, unless it meant ECM bad.

Do you have a Helm service manual? There's a set troubleshooting
flowchart to follow for each Engine code. Otherwise you could just be
chasing your tail.
 >> Stay informed about: 86 ALCL help 

Right, i cleaned the wires of obvious oil
secured all conns, looked for vacuum leaks
and now i just bought a set of Bosch Plat +4 at $6 each !
code 42 is intermittent, spark timing

thanks,

ssome


"Dleer" wrote in message

> always do the easy and cheap stuff first
>
> put in sp wire, dist cap, coil, rotor, plugs, electronics points module
and
> the ESC all connetions to ALL SENSORS.
>
> there is also an external timing 'set' connector, used when setting the
> timing
>
> put in new parts one at a time and check results
>
> don't ignore things like bad fuel, fuel pressure,
>
> I chased a an intermittent sp wire for 2 years.
>
> if compression and vacuum checks shows the engine ok, fuel and pressure
ok,
> wiring good, the only thing left are senors and ecm
>
> if it was the ecm your car will definately not run
>
> g...luck
>
> There is also
> "ssome" wrote in message
>
> >i really can't just turn over the car to a dealer and say fix it. pride
> >and
> > money.
> > the last time i did that it effectively cost me $1300 for a new battery
> > they will take advantage of us
> >
> > this time i noticed overnight a fluttering of performance as if one
> > cylinder
> > wasn't firing
> > i chked the plugs and found oil leaks from the valve covers onto the
plugs
> > cleaned them and problem is still there
> >
> > chkd for vacuum line leaks; none that i could see
> > then on the 3rd day, the Service Engine flashing lite, sometimes
> >
> > chkd code: 42 timing
> >
> > added info: years ago my gas mileage numbers were screwed up, but
didn't
> > care, unless it meant ECM bad.
> >
> > pls, tell me i don't have to hand my baby over to them and that i can
just
> > buy a $25 part (still laughing myself) and plug it in to solve all
> > problems.
> >
> > ssome
> >
> >
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: 86 ALCL help 

i have the Chevy manual
there is a flowchart for err 42 elec spark timing (EST)
and it seems to be dependent on whether the problem is intermittent or not
and from this it will be either the ignition module or ECM

a few years ago i had a code 44 err, lean exhaust indication and snugged
up all vacuum lines and the problem went away. don't know if this has any
bearing on the case at hand.

off to change the plugs, see above, got plenty of beer and cuss words
i only chkd a couple of them, so looking at all of them should tell me if
one or two are not firing

thanks,

ssome

wrote in message

>
> ssome wrote:
> > i really can't just turn over the car to a dealer and say fix it. pride
and
> > money.
> > the last time i did that it effectively cost me $1300 for a new battery
> > they will take advantage of us
> >
> > this time i noticed overnight a fluttering of performance as if one
cylinder
> > wasn't firing
> > i chked the plugs and found oil leaks from the valve covers onto the
plugs
> > cleaned them and problem is still there
> >
> > chkd for vacuum line leaks; none that i could see
> > then on the 3rd day, the Service Engine flashing lite, sometimes
> >
> > chkd code: 42 timing
> >
> > added info: years ago my gas mileage numbers were screwed up, but
didn't
> > care, unless it meant ECM bad.
>
> Do you have a Helm service manual? There's a set troubleshooting
> flowchart to follow for each Engine code. Otherwise you could just be
> chasing your tail.
>
 >> Stay informed about: 86 ALCL help 

please explain further
"the ESC all connections to ALL SENSORS"

ssome

"Dleer" wrote in message

> always do the easy and cheap stuff first
>
> put in sp wire, dist cap, coil, rotor, plugs, electronics points module
and
> the ESC all connetions to ALL SENSORS.
>
> there is also an external timing 'set' connector, used when setting the
> timing
>
> put in new parts one at a time and check results
>
> don't ignore things like bad fuel, fuel pressure,
>
> I chased a an intermittent sp wire for 2 years.
>
> if compression and vacuum checks shows the engine ok, fuel and pressure
ok,
> wiring good, the only thing left are senors and ecm
>
> if it was the ecm your car will definately not run
>
> g...luck
>
> There is also
> "ssome" wrote in message
>
> >i really can't just turn over the car to a dealer and say fix it. pride
> >and
> > money.
> > the last time i did that it effectively cost me $1300 for a new battery
> > they will take advantage of us
> >
> > this time i noticed overnight a fluttering of performance as if one
> > cylinder
> > wasn't firing
> > i chked the plugs and found oil leaks from the valve covers onto the
plugs
> > cleaned them and problem is still there
> >
> > chkd for vacuum line leaks; none that i could see
> > then on the 3rd day, the Service Engine flashing lite, sometimes
> >
> > chkd code: 42 timing
> >
> > added info: years ago my gas mileage numbers were screwed up, but
didn't
> > care, unless it meant ECM bad.
> >
> > pls, tell me i don't have to hand my baby over to them and that i can
just
> > buy a $25 part (still laughing myself) and plug it in to solve all
> > problems.
> >
> > ssome
> >
> >
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: 86 ALCL help 

Eventful afternoon in Seattle
stage 1 4 plugs 4 beers and naturally i took the easy side first, the
left. front to back: 1 and 3 were amber; 2 where there was an oil leak
from the valve cover, VC, above it was a little bit more brown, but
reasonable.
however, 4, back left, was heavily oiled, maybe fired.

about this time neighbors who didn't even know me stopped by to laugh at my
attack on the right side physical impossibilities. Something about who do
you think you are going to pick up in that car at your age, .... 65. Even
asked if i remember why i chased nice women. i kept working and explained
that i did buy it 20 yrs ago.

which brings me to this: i had an '84 that all kinds of problems cropping
up, but i was forced into getting the plan to take care of ills (and that
was a salvation on a new model). But, i did decide (made too much money
then) that i needed the '86 which had the right brakes. better car, but
bad move.

Back to the right side joke. turns out that most of the problem is the air
conditioning. there is a oblique strut support for stability that forces
the air unit 4 inches to the proximal which screws us good guys up. Design
people should be forced for at least one year to work on their cars to see
what havoc they have wrought.

but i digress, back again to the right side joke. i really want to
complain to the SOB that made the plugs so tight. Oops, that might be me.
Maybe, the heat and time made them that way.... sure.

More beer to keep me calm, but the cuss words, quietly at first, just
spilled out. the upshot of it was that the right side back plug was caked
with not just oil, but sludge - this plug was not firing. the front 3 were
acceptable.

Now, why does this happen? this is a design problem. the back plugs have
to be the hottest and have always been a problem since racing began. why
are we seeing this in a production car? why aren't we told of this? why
isn't there a fix?

i am also on my 3rd alternator replacement in 31K miles have we been
screwed for trusting them?

did it run better? yes. but, not perfect. 90% better. wires?

thanks for all your help and i hope it continues with this added info to not
only help me but thousands of others who read this N:L. keep up the good
work.

ssome


"ssome" wrote in message

> i really can't just turn over the car to a dealer and say fix it. pride
and
> money.
> the last time i did that it effectively cost me $1300 for a new battery
> they will take advantage of us
>
> this time i noticed overnight a fluttering of performance as if one
cylinder
> wasn't firing
> i chked the plugs and found oil leaks from the valve covers onto the plugs
> cleaned them and problem is still there
>
> chkd for vacuum line leaks; none that i could see
> then on the 3rd day, the Service Engine flashing lite, sometimes
>
> chkd code: 42 timing
>
> added info: years ago my gas mileage numbers were screwed up, but didn't
> care, unless it meant ECM bad.
>
> pls, tell me i don't have to hand my baby over to them and that i can just
> buy a $25 part (still laughing myself) and plug it in to solve all
problems.
>
> ssome
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: 86 ALCL help 

"ssome" wrote in message

Snip
> conditioning. there is a oblique strut support for stability that forces
> the air unit 4 inches to the proximal which screws us good guys up. Design
> people should be forced for at least one year to work on their cars to see
> what havoc they have wrought.

All parts have to be somewhere, some go on first and some go on last, the ones
that have to be fixed are in the middle. Would you have bought the car if there
had been 8 plugs in a row down the middle of the roof so you could stand up
straight and change them?

--
Dad
05 C6 Silver/Red 6spd Z51
72 Shark Black/Black/4spd
 >> Stay informed about: 86 ALCL help 

Dad wrote:
> "ssome" wrote in message
>
> Snip
>> conditioning. there is a oblique strut support for stability that forces
>> the air unit 4 inches to the proximal which screws us good guys up. Design
>> people should be forced for at least one year to work on their cars to see
>> what havoc they have wrought.
>
> All parts have to be somewhere, some go on first and some go on last, the ones
> that have to be fixed are in the middle. Would you have bought the car if there
> had been 8 plugs in a row down the middle of the roof so you could stand up
> straight and change them?
>

Not to gripe about the plugs on the 'vette. My bride's land barge has
to have a motor mount pulled to change the serpentine belt--plug change
is recommended as 'associated maintenance.'
--
PJ
'89 Hookercar '02 e-blu coupe
 >> Stay informed about: 86 ALCL help 

i miss those straight 8's


"Dad" wrote in message

>
> "ssome" wrote in message
>
> Snip
> > conditioning. there is a oblique strut support for stability that
forces
> > the air unit 4 inches to the proximal which screws us good guys up.
Design
> > people should be forced for at least one year to work on their cars to
see
> > what havoc they have wrought.
>
> All parts have to be somewhere, some go on first and some go on last, the
ones
> that have to be fixed are in the middle. Would you have bought the car if
there
> had been 8 plugs in a row down the middle of the roof so you could stand
up
> straight and change them?
>
> --
> Dad
> 05 C6 Silver/Red 6spd Z51
> 72 Shark Black/Black/4spd
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: 86 ALCL help